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33 Legal Educ. Rev. 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/legedr33 and id is 1 raw text is: 









  AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CLASSROOM

  IN  LAW AND SOCIAL WORK: CAN IT BE

                             DONE?


            JEMMA   VENABLES* AND TAMARA WALSH+





                      I    INTRODUCTION


    The practice of law frequently overlaps with the practice of social
work.  Law   'cuts across' all areas of social work  practice, 1 and for
lawyers  who  work  with vulnerable  and  disadvantaged  clients, social
work  is a necessary  part of their legal practice.2 Indeed, some have
argued that 'the practice of law is, or ought to be, social work'.3
    Despite the fact that each discipline has much to offer the other, the
study of social work and  law remain  separate. The literature describes
a handful of teaching and learning experiments  where  academics  have
attempted  to  teach  students in an  interdisciplinary manner.  4 The
designers  of such programs   have  identified myriad barriers to their
success.  They    describe  interpersonal   barriers  associated  with
professional stereotypes, a lack  of understanding  about the  roles of



    Lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of
    Queensland.
    Professor, School of Law, The University of Queensland.

    Andrea Saltzman, David M Furman and Kathleen Ohman, Law in Social Work
    Practice (Cengage, 3 ed, 2015) xi. See also Phillip Swain, 'Why Social Work and
    Law?' in Simon Rice, Andrew Day and Linda Briskman (eds), Social Work in the
    Shadow of the Law (Federation Press, 5th ed, 2018) 2, 5; Phillip Swain 'Reflections
    on Teaching Law in Social Work - If Only It Were That Simple' (1999) 2(2)
    Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education 124.
2   See, eg, Spencer Zifcak, 'Towards a Reconciliation of Legal and Social Work
    Practice' in Simon Rice, Andrew Day and Linda Briskman (eds), Social Work in the
    Shadow of the Law (Federation Press, 2018) 9; Mary Anne Kenny and Lucy Fiske
    'Marriage of Convenience or a Match Made in Heaven: Lawyers and Social
    Workers Working with Asylum Seekers' (2004) 10(1) Australian Journal ofHuman
    Rights 137; Heather B Craige and William G Saur 'The Contribution of Social
    Workers to Legal Services Programs' (1981) 14(13) Clearinghouse Review 1267.
3   Jane Aiken and Stephen Wizner, 'Law as Social Work' (2003) 11 Washington
    University Journal of Law and Policy 63, 64. See also Ross Hyams, Grace Brown
    and Richard Foster, 'The Benefits of Multidisciplinary Learning in Clinical Practice
    for Law, Finance and Social Work Students: An Australian Experience' (2013) 33(2)
    Journal of Teaching in Social Work 159, 167, 169.
4   See, eg, Ross Hyams et al (n 3); Jose B. Ashford and Husain Lateef, 'Serving Miller
    Youth: An Interprofessional Initiative for Educating Law and Social Work Students'
    (2019) Journal of Social Work Education 1-7; Mary Ann Forgey and Lisa Colarossi,
    'Interdisciplinary Social Work and Law: A Model Domestic Violence Curriculum'
    (2003) 39(3) Journal ofSocial Work Education 459.

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